Highlights
- For the first time in the data鈥檚 history, Springfield, MA, ranked as the country鈥檚 hottest market in November.
- Prices fell slightly nationally, but the month鈥檚 hottest markets saw more significant price growth (+5.0%) due to high demand and scarce for-sale inventory.
- The Northeast and the Midwest were the only regions on this month鈥檚 list with 11 and 9 markets, respectively. November鈥檚 list is the 14th in a row containing only Northeast and Midwest markets.
- The New York City metro area saw the biggest jump in its hotness ranking among large U.S. metros compared with last year, climbing 80 spots to rank as the 170th hottest U.S. market in November.
The Springfield, Mass., metro area ranked as the country鈥檚 hottest housing market in November for the first time in the data鈥檚 history. This Boston-adjacent metro has been red-hot since August 2021, ranking among the top 20 markets monthly for over three years.聽
Springfield鈥檚 hotness means that high demand is met with low inventory as buyers claim available homes. The area has not seen any significant shift in buyer attention, which means that inventory has not been able to recover. This dynamic has kept time on the market quick and competition fierce, which continues to feed market hotness.聽
The Realtor.com Market Hotness rankings take into account two aspects of the housing market: 1) market demand, as measured by unique views per property on Realtor.com, and 2) the pace of the market as measured by the number of days a listing remains active on Realtor.com.
Prices climb in 16 of the 20 hottest markets
On average, both price growth and demand outpace the national trend in the hottest markets. Home prices were slightly lower year over year nationally in November, but many of the hottest markets saw still-climbing prices. Annual price growth in the hottest markets climbed from 2.9% in October to 5.0% in November, reversing the recent trend of slowing growth. Demand, as measured by views per property, was 2.4 times the national level in the hottest markets in November, easing from the previous month.聽
This month鈥檚 hottest market, Springfield, Mass., saw 2.9 times the listing viewership as was typical in the U.S. in November, and price growth accelerated to 4.3% year over year in the metro. Lafayette, IN (+30.4%), Rockford, IL (+13.2%), and Cleveland, OH (+10.9%), saw the highest annual price growth of this month鈥檚 hottest markets, followed by ever-popular Manchester-Nashua, NH (+7.0%).
While active listings were up 26.2% year over year nationally in November, many of the hottest markets saw more subdued listing growth. On average, the 20 hottest markets saw inventory increase 16.5% year over year in November. Though inventory is improving annually in most of the hottest markets, there were an average of 57.0% fewer homes for sale in October compared with pre-pandemic levels among these hot markets, far outpacing the national decline of 21.5%.聽
High demand and scarce inventory conditions drive views per property higher, upping the competition for homes in the hottest markets and leading to snappier home sales. Homes in the hottest markets sold about three days slower than last year but spent three weeks less time on the market than typical nationally (40 days in hot markets vs 62 days nationally).
Who鈥檚 in
All but four markets on the November Hottest Housing Markets list were also on October’s list. Springfield, Ill., Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio, Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J., and Lafayette-West Lafayette, Ind., all jumped from within the top 30 markets last month.聽
Looking at which of the 300 ranked markets climbed the most year over year reveals that Charlottesville, VA (115 spots hotter), Lexington-Fayette, KY (103 spots hotter), and Muskegon, MI (99 spots hotter), have picked up popularity compared with last year.
Who鈥檚 out
Four markets fell out of the top 20 from October鈥檚 list. Rochester, NY, Boston, MA, Norwich, CT, and Janesville-Beloit, WI, each dropped out of the top 20 between October and November.聽
Looking instead at which metros have fallen the furthest over the past year reveals a list of mostly Southern markets that have fallen from popularity. The metros that have fallen the furthest include Nashville, TN (117 spots lower), Tampa, FL (116 spots lower), and Blacksburg, VA (102 spots lower).
November 2024: Top 20 Hottest Housing Markets
| Hottest Metros | Hotness Rank | Hotness Rank YoY | Viewers per Property vs US | Median Days On Market | Days on Market YoY | Median Listing Price If Active Within Period |
| Springfield, Mass. | 1 | -3 | 2.9 | 37 | 3 | $365,000 |
| Rockford, Ill. | 2 | -1 | 2.8 | 36 | 10 | $237,000 |
| Oshkosh-Neenah, Wis. | 3 | -13 | 2.6 | 36 | -6 | $320,000 |
| Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. | 4 | -1 | 3.7 | 40 | 3 | $399,000 |
| Lancaster, Pa. | 5 | -6 | 2.4 | 33 | -1 | $395,000 |
| Worcester, Mass.-Conn. | 6 | 0 | 2.5 | 38 | 7 | $507,000 |
| Manchester-Nashua, N.H. | 7 | 6 | 3.2 | 42 | 12 | $557,000 |
| Canton-Massillon, Ohio | 8 | -11 | 2 | 35 | 0 | $246,000 |
| Akron, Ohio | 9 | -3 | 2.2 | 40 | 3 | $220,000 |
| Concord, N.H. | 10 | 1 | 2.8 | 46 | 7 | $540,000 |
| Racine, Wis. | 11 | -2 | 2.1 | 38 | 3 | $329,000 |
| Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. | 12 | 4 | 2.2 | 41 | 6 | $540,000 |
| Springfield, Ill. | 13 | -15 | 2 | 39 | -1 | $190,000 |
| Reading, Pa. | 14 | -12 | 1.9 | 38 | 0 | $335,000 |
| Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. | 15 | -10 | 1.9 | 37 | 2 | $365,000 |
| Erie, Pa. | 16 | -2 | 2.9 | 47 | 5 | $239,000 |
| New Haven-Milford, Conn. | 17 | -17 | 2.7 | 47 | 2 | $400,000 |
| Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio | 18 | -18 | 2.2 | 45 | 2 | $250,000 |
| Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Pa.-N.J. | 19 | -4 | 1.9 | 41 | 2 | $385,000 |
| Lafayette-West Lafayette, Ind. | 20 | 3 | 1.8 | 41 | 4 | $365,000 |
Not in the top 20? See rankings for the top 300 markets
Most improved large markets
The 40 largest markets across the country cooled by 8 spots in hotness rank, on average, compared with last year. This is the third month that large markets have cooled off annually since January 2023. Nevertheless, these areas pulled in 6.4% more views per listing than was typical in the U.S. in October, and homes spent eight fewer days on the market than the U.S. median. Prices fell an average of 1.0% in these markets, the fourth month of a large-market average annual decline in the data鈥檚 history.聽
Large, often high-priced, markets are starting to adjust to subdued buyer demand by lowering home prices and selling smaller, more affordable homes. Some of the slowing price growth both nationally and in the largest market is due to a change in the mix of inventory for sale.
The most improved housing markets were New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. (80 spots hotter), Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (+48 spots), Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, (+38 spots), Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (+31 spots), and Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas (+28 spots). This month鈥檚 fastest-climbing markets ranked between 54th (Philadelphia) and 210th (Houston) on November鈥檚 list.聽
Large Markets With Biggest Jump in Rankings (November 2024)
| Metro | Hotness Rank | Hotness Rank YoY | Viewers per Property vs US | Median Days On Market | Days on Market YoY | Median Days On Market Vs Us |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. | 170 | -80 | 1.00 | 60 | 2 | -2 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. | 60 | -48 | 1.20 | 46 | 2 | -16 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md. | 54 | -38 | 1.50 | 47 | 1 | -15 |
| Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. | 130 | -31 | 1.20 | 57 | 5 | -5 |
| Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, Texas | 210 | -28 | 0.30 | 52 | 3 | -10 |
What does this mean for buyers, sellers, and the housing market?
This month鈥檚 hottest markets likely come as no surprise, highlighting the lack of significant change in the housing market over the past couple of years. The Midwest and Northeast have reigned supreme as homes to most of the country鈥檚 hottest markets since mid-2022 when mortgage rates picked up steam.聽
Housing affordability started to improve with falling mortgage rates in September, but rates reversed course in October and November, sapping energy out of the market once again. However, rates are聽驳别苍别谤补濒濒测听expected to fall in the coming months, and improving affordability could shake up buyer demand. However, many less-hot markets across the country have seen a significant buildup in housing inventory, which can absorb an uptick in demand without much upward price pressure.